Many years ago in a galaxy known as metal, some stuff happened that would change the course of the genre forever (but you probably knew that already). We’re here to ponder things like what if that never happened in regard to some of metal’s most momentous events and happenings”What might the metal world be like today?

Metal vocalist, professional pilot, author and even part-time actor”Bruce Dickinson is a man of huge talent and even larger personality. Anyone with a serious passion for metal probably already knows that Mr. Dickinson was not the original vocalist for legendary metal band Iron Maiden, but what if Bruce never joined the band at all, and the vocalist remained Paul Di’Anno, who performed on the first two Iron Maiden albums?(more…)

It seems like 2012 is going to be a big year for Usher. In addition to the release of his latest album The Shanertance, the singer has also been in London training for the upcoming movie Hands of Stone.

The singer will play Sugar Ray Leonard in the movie about Panamanian boxer Roberto Durán, played by Gael Garcí­a Bernal. Robert De Niro is also reported to star in the movie.

The last time Usher appeared in a film was in the 2010 romantic action-comedy, Killers. In an interview with the BBC, the pop star expresses his excitement for his next project: “This is going to be an incredible movie — in time an incredible story — and I’m really looking forward to that.” Not having Kutcher and Heigl as your leads is a good start.

In person, I Love Monsters may or may not be as cool as the guys from Entourage, but, in stereo, they sure as hell sound like they are. Which may be why the HBO series featured the NYC band’s song, Heart/Beat, on its Season 7 premiere. It’s tightly wound (like Ari Gold) and highly stylized (like Vince Chase) and wastes no time getting to the point. Drums clatter and serpentine guitars wind and lunge for a killer, two-minute showdown. I Love Monsters’ frenzied, rhythmic melodies are cut from the same cloth as the Killers and Strokes”just take away the crooning and add snotty, high-register post-punk vocals. Keep Me Guessing, is a jittery rocker that courses restlessly while guitars dart in and out and cymbals crash. Sounds like these monsters have a serious case of agida”lucky for you it’s contagious.

The Good

Taio Cruz’s Dynamite becomes Candlelight for Hanukah

Besides Adam Sandler’s Chanukah song, there are few instantly recognizable odes that celebrate the Festival of Lights. Too few, if you ask Yeshiva University a capella group The Maccabeats. To commemorate this sacred religious holiday, the group opted to give a secular song a Semitic makeover, in this case Taio Cruz’s dance floor hit Dynamite. Check out Candlelight below.

Killers release charity single for World AIDS Day

Wednesday was World AIDS Day, and to support (RED), which raises AIDS awareness across the world, the Killers released a Christmas single called Boots. It’s a real tear-jerker that shows how a karaoke machine can ultimately bring redemption. And that’s what Christmas is all about.

The Bad

Snoop Dogg writes song for Prince William’s bachelor party

When Snoop Dogg heard that a member of the royal family wanted him to perform at Prince William’s upcoming nuptials, he wasted no time writing an original song to honor the momentous occasion. Uh, it’s called Wet and it’s about oral sex. As much as we’d like to report that the song will be played during the reception, it was actually commissioned by Prince Harry for his brother’s stag party. You can download it on Snoop’s site right now if you want to hear what the Windsors will be grinding to.

Willie Nelson and AC/DC drummer busted for marijuana

Willie Nelson was arrested for possession of six ounces of marijuana last Friday while attempting to cross the border in Texas”a charge that brings with it a minimum sentence of 180 days in jail. Across the globe, AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd plead guilty to marijuana possession in New Zealand, following a bust in October. He was fined roughly $187. Nelson’s fate, on the other hand, remains to be seen. Whatever happens, he’ll probably pack more carefully before he goes out ¦ on the road again. Folks!

The Ugly

Michael Jackson’s father files wrongful death lawsuit ¦ again

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. Just ask Joe Jackson, who filed another wrongful death lawsuit against Micheal Jackson’s doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray, on Tuesday. A judge rejected his first attempt, so to sweeten the deal this time around, the Jackson family patriarch added a Las Vegas pharmacy to his suit. We’ll see if his greed strategy pays off.

Motí¶rhead fan beaten to death after Leeds concert

This is just terrible. Forty-four year old Andrew Crawford died after sustaining head injuries at the hands of two men after a Motí¶rhead concert in Leeds last week. Crawford confronted the two men after they reportedly set his friend’s hair on fire during the concert. Motí¶rhead posted news of the murder on their Web site under the headline Sad Day. The two men accused of the murder have been released on bail.

Salem, Virginia. It’s a little town nestled within Appalachia in Southwest Virginia, so one might expect to come across plenty of bands playing the high lonesome music indigenous to the area. But loud, assertive rock? Hooks and grit culled from years of listening to the Stones and Elvis Costello, with some Remy Zero pop sensibility thrown in? Less predictable, which makes My Radio an unexpected surprise. The band is adept at turning out tightly packaged rockers, whether it’s the cheeky piano sequences and distorted, guitar peals of Yeah Yeah Yeah or the almost ˜80s pop vibe of Unbelievable. But it’s probably the track Stars that will be your favorite ” slow and steady piano rock chronicling life on the road. You can almost feel the wistfulness filtered through My Radio’s instruments. Stalwarts like Kravitz, Cars and Killers are all thrown into the band’s musicology, meaning rock pundits will find lots to like. Forget high and lonesome. Loud and populist is where it’s at.

OurStage will be streaming the Hope For Haiti Now telethon live Friday, January 22 at 8 p.m. ET.

PS22 chorus does it again

PS22 Chorus

Sometimes it seems like the only news is bad news. If life starts getting you down, know that you can always turn to the kids at PS22 Elementary School on Staten Island to put a smile back on your face. Here they are singing Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind. Enjoy.

The Bad

Courtney gets maternal
You know you’re in trouble when your actions leave Courtney Love feeling like a mother. Forget worrying about her own spawn, Love is more bugged out about pop’s sloppy party girl, Ke$ha, who’s just a few years older than her own daughter. In a long series of tweets on her Twitter page, Love voiced her concern that Ke$ha was being molded into something not her that will fail, and that she wants to save her. Frances Bean, say it with us: Physician, heal thyself.

Killers announce hiatus

Killers

The Killers have announced they will go on indefinite hiatus after wrapping up their tour in Australia in February. Citing exhaustion after 6 years of steady rocking, the group will take some time to focus on other areas of life that we normal people take for granted: watching Jersey Shore marathons in our living room with no pants on.

The Ugly

John Mayer’s Rolling Stone interview

John Mayer

Listen to John Mayer as he spins a long and self-gratifying yarn about his near misses with Vegas strippers, how it broke his heart to dump dear old Jen (again) and his love for Rosie Palmer. Put it this way, when he’s not stroking his own ego, he’s stroking something else.